Tag Archives: rescue

Three cheers for our heroic Lifeguards! In this episode, I get the opportunity to speak with Logan Evans, the Life Guard who was part of a three person team of First Aid providers who helped a woman who had apparently had a seizure and fallen in the Women’s shower room at a local pool! The problem was that there was a pool full of people and the patient was trapped in a locked shower stall half in and half out of the door on the ground. Watch this interview to see how Logan, Certified Lifeguard, sprung into action to help this person through this scary and potentially life threatening situation.

This episode was originally recorded in 2008. It was our first broadcast of 45 total before we ended the show.

On this week’s iRescueRadio, we cover stories ranging from a Canberra, Australian man who gets bit by an extremely deadly Australian Brown Snake… and lives! Next, a boy in Belding, Michigan is bit by a black widow spider…guess where it came from! And then, we cover Google Flu Trends and a hilarious look at the effects of music on your health. All this on this episode of iRescueRadio. Listen now by clicking on the play arrow below.

I received yet another loving email from a person who’s father died in the front of their automobile while they were driving them to the hospital. Due to things outside her control, she was unable to move her dad to the ground so she improvised and did CPR while he was reclined in the car the best she could. She has struggled for some time with this and found some relief from my episode on “Did I Do CPR Wrong?”.
I just replied back to her and I have to believe there may be others who have tried to save a life with CPR and felt it was not successful. So I’m going to include my reply to her in this blog entry and for those of you who are suffering, I hope it helps.

This person said in her last paragraph of her email: “I have struggled with this in so many ways, yet feel comfort in being with him when he left. I have struggled to find any material that related to my experience. I have felt isolated in not being able to share how I lost my dad, This story, the words you have written, have helped me process and understand my own experience. Thank you.”

This was my response:
Dear __________,

I’m so very sorry for the loss of your Father. I’m sure this must have been most traumatic for both you and your mother. I want to re-ensure you that what you did for your dad that day, was the most brave and loving gift you could have given both your dad and your mum. Every thing you did sounds perfect in order to give your dad the best chance of survival possible under the circumstances. The fact that he did not survive the event does not have anything to do with your efforts. Remember, CPR is only a time buyer in case the person is going to respond to medications and advanced medicine. It’s not a guarantee. The fact that you had the courage to try and the compassion to help is amazing. Please let your mother know that her reaction to the situation is also very normal. She lost the love of her life. Her soul mate and her husband. It’s a nightmare that is happening for real, right before her eyes and it’s not wrong for her to be so overwhelmed with grief and fear that she could not help. That’s why paramedics are not called to their own homes for emergencies. It’s too emotional. So please, let your mother know that she is not at fault for her reactions either.

I hope and pray that you will receive peace during this time of healing. But please know that everyone has a day to die and it’s never easy to experience it. CPR just keeps the window of opportunity to survive open a little longer. You gave that to your dad. As a father myself, I can only imagine how I’d feel to know that my daughter loved me so much that she would give me CPR while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. What love.

Be at Peace,

-Roy
P.S. I’ve included the video that explains this message in detail. I recorded it so long ago, it’s hard to find so I’m going to bring it back to the top. Share it with anyone you may know who may benefit from it.

I was sent a tweet from our friends across the Ocean who are involved in rescue. It appears that a teenager was washed out to sea and the brave men and women who make up the UK Coast Guard, risked their lives to try and save this child. Regardless the outcome, I wanted to thank them personally by featuring their rescue video.

Got a good question via email today regarding the choking adult scenario. This rescuer asked if we could explain the following: “Please talk about how to give a pregnant woman chest compressions if she was choking. How would we hold her? With an infant we make sure the head is below the body. But what to do for a pregnant woman who is choking? -H____

I thought this was a good question and one that we cover in our CPR certification course. Feel free to view it below. At about 44 seconds into the training, I talk about what to do if the person has a distended abdomen that’s too large to reach around, or they are a pregnant person. I hope this helps!

As in all accidental deaths, the more we know about how to prevent them, the better off we will all be. In this episode, I answer an email that asked if I could combine training with some more realistic visuals about how a person may actually look when they’re drowning vs. the hollywood melodramatic look. The rescue fan was concerned that many people may not even realize that a drowning victim could be very quiet and not really even yell for help.

When natural or unnatural disasters strike, the chance of getting emergency help to your doorstep fast while the EMS services are exhausted is very slim. I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a situation that doesn’t get discussed much. What effect does a hurricane or natural disaster have on the rest of the community? We sometimes forget the fact that though the rest of the world is distracted by a storm or other disaster related buzz, people still get sick, heart attacks still happen, car accidents still happen but we don’t often think about from where the next ambulance, fire truck or police car is going to be responding. This episode of RoyOnRescue addresses this issue and urges people who may be in high risk of needing an ambulance or other EMS service to think proactively and make arrangements before the emergency happens. Think about moving loved ones with fragile health to temporary locations that may not be effected by the hurricane. Can the person stay with a relative until the community has recovered? What is the back up plan if one can be found? I hope this RoyOnRescue episode get’s everyone thinking and will hopefully help prevent a needless death due to not having the appropriate plans in place. Stay safe, our prayers are with everyone who has been and is effected by hurricane Sandy and other storms.

In this RoyOnRescue, we take a look at Stephen St. Bernard, who risked his own life to save another. He caught a young girl after she fell from a third story platform and though he suffered some injuries after the rescue, he saved the little girls life. This is an episode dedicated to the neighborhood heroes that get involved and make a difference. You won’t want to miss the live footage of this heroic event. Thank you Stephen St. Bernard, for being a true hero.
Some have asked, how does catching a falling child compare to catching a weight at that velocity. A physicist has figured it out and states, “If she weighs 50 pounds, the man and ground must push up with an average of 12 times that force, or 600 pounds.”

In this episode, I wanted to take a moment to focus on the success of rescue attempts. Though it’s no guarantee that anyone will survive no matter how hard we try to save their lives, from time to time…they do.

And this is a video that celebrates survival. Don’t forget to celebrate the caring enough to try, no matter what the outcome too.
Cheers,

It’s been a while but it’s good to be back. In this episode I explain why it’s been so long between my last vlog and this latest release. I also talk about a first hand experience I had watching dangerous undertows and sideways currents when I took my family to Lake Michigan on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The waves were 4-6 feet and they may have made a very dangerous situation. Be sure to watch in order to learn more about how to keep others safe at the beach.